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Reka Albert
Study systems include
Network models of disease spread
Selected publications
Gupta A, Maranas CD & Albert R (2006) Elucidation of directionality for co-expressed genes: predicting intra-operon termination sites Bioinformatics
Albert R (2005) Scale-free networks in cell biology. J. Cell Science 118: 4947-4957
Albert R (2004) Boolean modeling of genetic regulatory networks. In: Complex Networks (editors: Ben-Naim E, Frauenfelder H & Toroczkai Z), Springer-Verlag.
Albert R & Barabasi AL (2002) Statistical mechanics of complex networks. Rev. Mod. Phys. 74: 47-97
Associate Professor of Physics and Biology
Email: ralbert@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-6123
Office: 216 Davey Laboratory
Research interests
I focus on biophysics and network modeling of biological systems. My group has two major areas of CIDD-related research.
Modeling the interplay between pathogens and the immune system
We are developing network models for pathogen-host interactions in respiratory tract infections caused by bacteria of the genus Bordetella
We are also modeling the within-host dynamics of Bordetella, focusing on the key process of innate immunity. We are approaching the problem both at a systemic (whole organism) level and at the level of individual host cells (signal transduction)
Epidemiological modeling of infectious diseases on heterogeneous host populations
There is currently considerable interest in the way that diseases spread across social contact networks of their hosts. We are approaching this problem in a distinctive way, in "growing" simple networks for human contact structures which allow for demography and family structure. These should provide a parsimonious model for the spread of disease across family, school, workplace and other social networks. Initially we will explore generic models for a range of infections, then focus on measles and influenza.
